a shrivelled bubbletip anenome...

[waterwerkz]

This is likely a dumb question but...we transported our red bubble tip anenome from the lfs on saturday. All has been fine till this 'aft when he/she developed shrivelled tentacles...and slowly curled up...slid into a hole in the rock...hasn't been seen since. The anenome crab is peering down the hole, keeping an eye on things.
So - is it dying? No one else in the system has been affected. Or is this adaptive behaviour? Sleeping? 'Merely resting after a loud squack"?
System - 45 gal; 1.5 year established; 2 percula; mandarin and watchman gobies; bunch of blue legged crabs, hermits, 80lbs live rock; cowries, turbo snails, bumblebee snails, 4 inch sand bed, protein skimmer, water pump and power head.

 

[SaltyNewbie]

I just bought a rose bubble tip anemone and he did about the same thing. I thought he would find a nice sunny spot and dig in! Right now he's just chillin all shrunk up on the under side of a piece of LR.

I'm hoping he'll come back up soon and pick out a sunny spot, otherwise I'm going to start getting nervous. :?

 

[reefdood]

What kind of lighting do you have? I had a bubble tip in my 30 and under 3 VHO and a 175 1200k. When the lights kicked on the sucker would expand to take up about 1/3 the tank, and after the lights went off he would creep back in his hole and remain about the size of a lemon until the lights came back on.

 

[SaltyNewbie]

PC lights: 1 65 watt 10000k and 1 65 watt actinic .... 4.5 watts per gallon

 

[tazdevil]

Lighting is not adequate enough. One thing on the watts per gallon-


It's not the best indicator of how much light your giving the anemone. Light penetration is very different for different types of lighting.


Most here wouldn't suggest keeping on anemone under pc only unless you have a shallow tank (like saltynewbie with a 29gal-thats shallow), and an excessive number of pc's. MH is the best recommendation. Also check your nitrate levels, anemones are sensitive to that and PH, salinity changes.


HTH, FWIW